Visual Studio 2015 - Typescript "Build:Cannot find module..." - visual-studio

I'm trying to add Typescript to an existing .NET MVC project. I however get weird error-messages when I try to build. The Intellisense works and I can see that the typeings works. I can also see the .js-files being generated on manual save, meaning that the compileOnSave works. It's only when I try to build the whole project the errors show up.
I use the following settings in Visual Studio 2015:
Have installed typescript 2.0.3
Added the following devDependencies in my package.json-file
My tsconfig-file looks like this
This is how i import the dependencies specified in the package.json-file.


I had an app that showed the 'cannot find module' message in the editor when viewed in Visual Studio 2015 [TypeScript 2.0.6] - but worked perfectly in VSCode!
I tried all the recommended changes found on StackOverflow and on other sites but none of them worked for me. The change that fixed my problem was to remove the 'outDir' property from the tsconfig file! I know that the code in the original question does not use the outDir property but this answer may help somebody else.
This change was also necessary for VS2017.
My suggestion: use VSCode if possible! :)


Are your npm dependencies installed? If not, then you should run npm install command on your project folder manually, or to avoid this in the future, you can automatically install npm packages to your project on build by editing your .njsproj file, after line
<Import Project="$(VSToolsPath)\Node.js Tools\Microsoft.NodejsTools.targets" />
add the following section:
<PropertyGroup>
<PreBuildEvent>
npm install --msvs_version=2015
</PreBuildEvent>
</PropertyGroup>
Or if you only want it on rebuild, then:
<PropertyGroup>
<BeforeRebuildEvent>
npm install --msvs_version=2015
</BeforeRebuildEvent>
</PropertyGroup>
The --msvs_version=2015command line option is not mandatory, but if you use multiple versions of VS or your npm is not set up correctly, then it might be useful.


I had the same issue and fixed by installing npm.
npm install


I am using RequireJS and needed to change the module system from CommonJS to AMD. In Visual Studio:
Right Click Project in Solution Explorer, "Properties"
TypeScript Build (tab on left)
Change selection under Module system


I had same problem with Visual Studio 2017. Solved problem installing angular-cli.
Hope it can help :)


The solution posted here works for me: Cannot find module when compiling under Visual Studio
(Update to the latest version of TypeScript for Visual Studio 2015 here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48593
)

Related

Dealing with Dual TypeScript installs

I'm trying to do some TypeScript tutorials but I'm hitting a weird problem. A while back I installed TypeScript 1.0.3.0 through Visual Studio here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\TypeScript
On the command line, when I check the TypeScript version it references that. I wanted to do some Angular (Angular version 2/4) so I loaded Node Package Manager and installed TypeScript through NPM. NPM loaded a newer version of TypeScript in another place on my computer. When I create Angular projects using Angular's CLI tool it somehow uses the NPM install. When I want to do simple, bare-bones TypeScript tutorials it uses the older version 1.0.3.0.
I lost my MSDN license so I can't run Visual Studio anymore. How do I update TypeScript that is in the Microsoft SDKs folder? Every Web site I check on installing or updating TypeScript tells me to use NPM.

If you don't plan to use it uninstall it, if you check Window uninstall software console panel page, you should find an item relating to that install.
If it's not there the simplest way would be to remove the old Typescript folder from your path variable (see here how to edit if you are not familiar). Look for the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\TypeScript folder and just remove it.
Then install the latest Typescript from npm.

"C:\Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" was not found

I have a project created in Visual Studio, 2013.
The project file has the following properties:
ToolsVersion="12.0",
PlatformToolset = v120.
I have Visual Studio 2013 and Microsoft Build Tools 2015 installed.
This project gets successfully built using MSBuild 12.0. Upon the attempt to build it with MSBuild 14.0 I get an error
MSB4019: The imported project "C:\Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" was not found. Confirm that the path in the <Import> declaration is correct, and that the file exists on disk.
As I understand, the problem is that the variable VCTargetsPath doesn’t get evaluated. If I specify the variable VCTargetsPath before the build (with the value C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V120), the problem is solved.
However, this approach is not very convenient in case the path is different. Is it possible to somehow solve the problem in a more optimal way?
The registry key and its value:
HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\12.0\VCTargetsPath $([MSBuild]::ValueOrDefault('$(VCTargetsPath)','$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V120\'))

This will usually solve the problem:
Run on an elevated command prompt (admin):
npm install --global --production windows-build-tools.
npm is required and my recommended package manager.
Change ownership of the install dir (in my case C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\14.0) to your user, instead of admin. (properties>Security>Advanced).
Sometimes step 2 is unnecessary. It is still recommended to avoid having to use admin console for some commands.

I recently reinstalled Visual studio 2017 and encountered this issue while trying to install "npm java".
The fix for me is:
set ms version to 2017: npm config set msvs_version 2017
set VCTargetsPath environment variable to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\VC\VCTargets
run command console as system administrator

These steps solved my issue:
Run npm install --global --production windows-build-tools
Run npm install --save nan
Set VCTargetsPath environment variable to C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V140

For those using VS 2019:
set VCTargetsPath="C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\MSBuild\Microsoft\VC\v160"
Edit (Sep 2020):
Sometimes it requires a trailing backslash (as bmiller mentioned below)

For those the above answer does not work, here is another possible solution to look at.
Even the installation of build tools or VS 2015 did not work for me. So I tried installing below directly via PowerShell (as admin)
https://chocolatey.org/packages/visualcpp-build-tools/14.0.25420.1
Command:
choco install visualcpp-build-tools --version 14.0.25420.1
Once this was installed, set an environment variable VCTargetsPath=C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\v140

I solved this by:
Set VCTargetsPath environment variable to C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V140
build using admin

I could not make it work with all the suggestions on this page
I downgraded nodejs to 10.15 and it worked fine
probably not the best answer but it works

When running MSBuild outside of Visual Studio 2019 (migrated from 2012), I had these kinds of problems.
I solved them running this MSBuild:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin\msbuild"
(customize it based on your VS version and target architecture) instead of this one:
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\msbuild
that I was using when I had Visual Studio 2012.

I solved the problem by loading the solution in VS 2019 instead of double-clicking the solution name in File Explorer.

My specific problem was using "yarn install" and during the build process, it was trying to build the node_modules node-sass component using MSBuild, and failing.
I would get the following error: "error MSB4019: The imported project "C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V140\Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" was not found. Confirm that the path in the <Import> declaration is correct, and that the file exists on disk."
This makes sense on a new developer machine with only Visual Studio 2022 installed. After investigating the node-sass module's build\binding.sln file, it appeared indicate that it requires Visual Studio 2015 VC++ Build Tools.
I then downloaded the "Visual C++ Build Tools for Visual Studio 2015 with Update 3" DVD image from Microsoft. After I installed it, it seemed to solve the problem, no PATH or registry changes required. When I ran "yarn install" again, building the module node-sass completed properly.

First I went to the path and confirmed that I didn't have that file. I was able to get that file by
opening the Visual Studio Installer,
clicking on "Modify" of the current installation
selecting "C++ Clang-cl v142 build tools (x64/x86)" under the Individual Components" tab.
Confirm the installation by clicking the "Modify" button

I tried npm install and VCTargetsPath, all not work. Finally solved after it after upgrading visual studio to the latest version.

Resolved by installing Visual Studio Express 2015 for Windows 10.

This happened for me when I used node version 14.15.3, install Node Version Manager, install lower Node version (8.x.x for example), switch to it and that should solve the issue.

After calling VS2019's vcvarsall.bat, it is necessary to use VS2019's MSBuild instead of the one in C:\Windows.
set VCVARSALL=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvarsall.bat
call "%VCVARSALL%" amd64
set MSBUILD=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe
rem set MSBUILD=%FrameworkDir%\%FrameworkVersion%\msbuild.exe

In my case, the reason was that the system environment variable VisualStudioVersion was pointing to the removed version of Visual Studio.
The same solution was building ok from inside the Visual Studio but failed when building with the command-line MSBuild.
The problem was solved by changing the environment variable manually.

I have VS 2019 and I met the same problem trying to install module 'keytar' on Windows 10. This is what I did in order to solve the problem:
Opened "Visual Studio Installer" and removed extra 2017/2019 build tools (for example "Visual Studio Build Tools 2017", restarted the PC
Got back into "Visual Studio Installer" / "Visual Studio Professional 2019" / "Modify" and added "Desktop development with C++" workload
Got into project folder with my problem, removed node_modules folder
Opened CMDO
As #TheRennen suggested performed the command:
set VCTargetsPath=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\MSBuild\Microsoft\VC\v160\
(without quotation marks and with one backslash at the end)
run yarn command and now there were no errors.
I think now it a time to add VCTargetsPath into Windows env values.
node v14.19.0, npm 7.20.5, yarn 1.22.15

I have faced this issue while building my flutter application. The issue arises because of the program in my case flutter was unable to locate the file "Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" which is required for building flutter apps in windows.
For solving the issue install MicroSoft Visual Studio(not Visual Studio code) from the below url.
https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
Make sure to check the below option before starting installation.
After installation go to below directory.
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\Msbuild\Microsoft\VC
Note : I have installed community version of 2022 Visual Studio. The folder structure may be different based on your VS version
You can see few folders with version numbers
Open the folder and check which one have the "Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" file . For my case it was the last folder v170. Open Environment variable and set "VCTargetsPath" variable with path to the folder in which "Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" is present. Save path and restart the build process. This should work.

Make sure to use --global with the command in order to be able to use this package anywhere.
This solves the issue for me

While checking the .vcxproj file, I noticed the ToolsVersion was missing. I added it and it solves the issue.
Before :
<Project DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
After :
<Project DefaultTargets="Build" ToolsVersion="4.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">

Typescript version conflict in Visual Studio Code

I have an Angular2 project created with the angular-cli project templates in Visual Studio Code. Also, I installed the latest version of Typescript (2.0.3) via npm as well as via the Microsoft link (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48593) because I also use Visual Studio 2015. However, for some reason the I still get an error message when I start my Angular2 project. Note that even with a standard command prompt running tsc -v will still return 1.0.0.0.
How does tsc -v determine the version of typescript?
How do I get rid of this message in my Angular project and ensure
it will be using the latest version of Typescript?
What am I missing here? Appreciate your help.

If you only need the last version of TypeScript, on both Visual Studios, then you can
delete all previous installations which are located in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\TypeScript.
reinstall the latest TypeScript version.
Hopefully everything will work.

Did you install TypeScript via NPM? If this is the case, try uninstalling it via npm uninstall -g typescript. Now reinstall it via npm install -g typescript and check if the problem is solved.

The best way is to allow VScode to only use the version of typescript installed locally.
Drop this in your .vscode/.settings file.
"typescript.tsdk": "./node_modules/typescript/lib"

error Build: File 'COMPUTE_PATHS_ONLY.ts' not found in visual studio

I received the following error after the repair of visual studio 2015.
Error Build: File 'COMPUTE_PATHS_ONLY.ts' not found.
COMPUTE_PATHS_ONLY.ts is not from my Git repo. Other files in the Git repo have not changed. What could it be?

I found answer here, it works for me: https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/issues/7445
the error indicates that there is a mismatch between your targets (C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\TypeScript\Microsoft.TypeScript.targets) and the tasks dll (C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\TypeScript\TypeScript.Tasks.dll); this would be an issue with the installer not handling a specific order of installing different versions.
Can please try:
uninstall TS 1.8.* from Add/Remove Programs
uninstall TS 1.7.* from Add/Remove Programs
make sure the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\TypeScript is empty, if not remove it manually
install TS 1.7.6 again, you should see the folder created in C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\TypeScript

For me the solution was to move the folder at
C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0\TypeScript
to
C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\TypeScript
and overwrite everything there.

This answer helped me a lot, I could solve my problem this way
When I removed "COMPUTE_PATHS_ONLY" from the
line Configurations="$(TypeScriptBuildConfigurations)
COMPUTE_PATHS_ONLY" in the file Microsoft.TypeScript.targets, my
problem was solved.

The steps mentioned above will not guarantee to fix your issue. After following the steps mentioned above I was keep getting the same compiler error.
I restarted my machine after "uninstall and install" operation but no luck.
Finally, I found that instead of doing all these from control panel we have to do it from package manager (Right Click on solution and select "Manage Nuget packages for solution.."
First uninstall the TS package for your project from package manager and then install the package and build.
Img of project setting

I was using the VS 2015 update_1 and type script version 1.8
For me it was solved by updating VS 2015 in update_3
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt752379.aspx

How to use Bower (installed from nuget) in Visual Studio?

I am trying to use bower inside Visual Studio 2013.
First I installed bower (not bower.js) via nuget's Package Manager Console.
Then I thought I could simply type
PM> bower init
inside the PMC to generate the bower.json.
But then it gave me this error.
bower : The term 'bower' is not recognized...
PS. The path of the PM> is pointing to C:\MyWebProject\MyWebProject\.bin.
What am I missing here??

Open the command prompt
Navigate to web project folder
Run bower init
You should have bower.json created by answering all answers on the cmd prompt.

Srinivas accurately described the steps needed to get you started with a bower.json in your root folder, which is where you want to start. You now have two main tasks:
Define dependencies - use Package Intellisense.
Install dependencies - use Grunt Launcher. They will be installed to the bower_components folder.
Reference dependencies - simply add them to you project (as links).
For more information see Introducing Gulp, Grunt, Bower, and npm support for Visual Studio.
Note that Visual Studio 2015 (currently in preview) has built-in, first-class support for all of the above: Manage Client-Side Web Development in Visual Studio 2015, Using Grunt and Bower.

Resources